1、高中英语必修四 unit2 课文原文精品文档A PIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLEAlthough he is one of Chinas most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works the land to do his research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of millions of Chinese farmers, for
2、whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the sam
3、e fields. Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain. Born into a poor farmers family in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great
4、need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent harv
5、est, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. These increased harvests mean that 22% of the worlds people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less developed countries to increase their rice har
6、vests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before. Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. However, he doesnt care about being famous. He feels it gives him less freedom to d
7、o his research. He would much rather keep time for his hobbles. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself or leading a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather th
8、an fewer troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture. Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. Long ago Dr yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as h
9、uge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person who loves and ca
10、res for his people. CHEMICAL OR ORGANIC FARMING? Over the past half century, using chemical fertilizers has become very common in farming. Many farmers welcomed them as a great way to stop crop disease and increase production. Recently, however, scientists have been finding that long-term use of the
11、se fertilizers can cause damage to the land and, even more dangerous, to peoples health. What are some of the problems caused by chemical fertilizers? First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful ones. Chemicals also stay in the ground and underground
12、water for a long time. This affects crops and, therefore, animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed off. These chemicals in the food supply build up in peoples bodies over time. Many of these chemicals can lead to cancer or other illnesses. In addition, fruit
13、, vegetables and other food grown with chemical fertilizers usually grow too fast to be full of much nutrition. They may look beautiful, but inside there is usually more water than vitamins and minerals. With these discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to turn to organic farming
14、. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. They focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease. A healthy soil reduces disease and helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals as fertilizer. They feel that
15、this makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, soil, water and crops free from chemicals. Organic farmers also use many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the kind of crop in each field every few years, for example, growing
16、 corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to use different levels of soil, for example, planting p
17、eanuts that use the grounds surface followed by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil, and then leaving it in the ground to become a natural fertilizer for the next years crop. These many different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid damaging the environment or peoples health. 收集于网络,如有侵权请联系管理员删除